Communications From Elsewhere

1. Fellini and Marxist capitalism “Sexual identity is intrinsically unattainable,” says Bataille; however, according to Finnis[1] , it is not so much sexual identity that is intrinsically unattainable, but rather the collapse, and thus the fatal flaw, of sexual identity. Wilson[2] suggests that the works of Fellini are empowering. However, the primary theme of Geoffrey’s[3] analysis of the constructivist paradigm of discourse is a mythopoetical whole. The main theme of the works of Smith is the role of the writer as poet. If one examines textual neocapitalist theory, one is faced with a choice: either accept Marxist capitalism or conclude that sexuality, perhaps paradoxically, has significance. “Class is dead,” says Baudrillard. If one examines the constructivist paradigm of discourse, one is faced with a choice: either reject textual neocapitalist theory or conclude that sexual identity has intrinsic meaning. 2. Von Ludwig[11] states that the works of Smith are postmodern. 1. 2. 3. 4.

The Secret Shame of the Scholarly WriterAcademic writing is a craft—a set of practices that can be learned and should be shared. Yet for generations we have wrapped academic writing in mystery and shamed those who struggle with it. So when our writing isn’t happening, we are afraid to ask for help. This has to change. We need to do a better job of helping ourselves—and each other—learn to hone our craft. My suggestions so far have focused on taming techniques, protecting your time, making a space for writing, and allocating energy.The odd tale of Alphascript Publishing and Betascript PublishingThis is one of the oddest things I’ve ever seen on the internet. A company variously calling itself Alphascript Publishing and Betascript Publishing is taking articles from Wikipedia and publishing them as books. It would appear that the act of doing that is legal, but from the outside, many of the books give the appearance of having been put together by some automated system, because the titles (and presumably contents) seem to be comprised of a Wikipedia page forming the starting point for the book and then a load of other Wikipedia pages which are linked-to from that page. It’s all very strange. As an example of what I mean, the book shown here is rather oddly called (deep breath) Vreni Schneider: Annemarie Moser-Pröll, FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Winter Olympic Games, Slalom Skiing, Giant Slalom Skiing, Half Man Half Biscuit. So presumably the subjects have some connection.

The Vitae Field Guide to DrawYourProfessor.comDraw Your Professor—the newish site that allows students to … well, yeah, you can figure this out—captures the biodiversity of homo pedagogicus in all its splendor and glory. But with more than 1,200 drawings currently on the site, you’ve got to sift through a lot of smiley-faced stick figures to get to the good stuff. Lucky for you, we’ve created a field guide to the masterworks you’re most likely to spot:Nopal mix fully chalk?I don't normally commend spam, but I just love the strange filler text in a Viagra spam that arrived this morning. I don't know how it was generated, but it seems not quite random in its tendency to alliteration and its bizarre flight of imagery, so that it comes across as a surreal poem. nopal mix fully chalk?fetid bay coatee.moving ingle pawn.pray valuer aerate chose.peso attic.public morgue nopal.ape chalk large.novel chump penes mix!

7 free tools for anyone who wants to become a better writerThe awesome (and scary) thing about being a writer is that you can always improve. It’s why people can sit on a draft for weeks—every time they take “one more look,” they can find a way to make it better. While it’s definitely a fun challenge to see how long you can keep finessing your work, it’s not always practical. After all, your boss usually doesn’t want you working on that press release for weeks on end while you try to brainstorm the perfect opening line.

70 useful sentences for academic writingBack in the late 90s, in the process of reading for my MA dissertation, I put together a collection of hundreds of sentence frames that I felt could help me with my academic writing later on. And they did. Immensely. After the course was over, I stacked my sentences away, but kept wondering if I could ever put them to good use and perhaps help other MA / PhD students. So here are 70 sentences extracted and adapted for from the original compilation, which ran for almost 10 pages.SpoetryIt’s commenter appreciation day here at Last Word on Nothing. If you’ve ever wondered why there’s a delay when you leave a note in the comments section, it’s because live human beings monitor them. We reject spam and nastygrams. But those poor spambots try so hard that today I think it’s time to recognize their efforts. The following spoems are crafted entirely of spam left in the comments section of LWON (and one disconcerting spam I found in my own email inbox).

35 Random Idea Generators for Writing a Romance NovelWho doesn’t love a good idea generator? It not only helps supply you with endless inspiration at the touch of a button but it’s a great way to waste a few hours…or days. Below is a list of random generators for you to try out.Too Much World: Is the Internet Dead?Hito Steyerl Is the internet dead?1 This is not a metaphorical question. It does not suggest that the internet is dysfunctional, useless or out of fashion. It asks what happened to the internet after it stopped being a possibility.

The Virtual AcademicWelcome! To see a random sentence, just click the "generate" button below, and Pootwattle, our Virtual Academic(TM), will write one for you. You may generate as many random sentences as you can stand. If you're the do-it-yourself type, you may write your own instead.Spam poetry: transcending the junk mail paradigmHigh performance access to file storage It's taken a while, but we have sifted through the flotsam and jetsam which washes every day through inboxes world-wide and found the precious pieces of amber which lie hidden within. Yes indeed, it's time to hand out some Reg goodies for contributions to what we have called "Spam Poetry" - those bursts of random, spam-filter-busting language which somehow transcend their mundane purpose and burst into the golden light of literary glory. Of course, we didn't invent the idea of Spam Poetry, nor discover its delights for the first time. We're obliged to all those correspondents who wrote to us indicating the veritable Web cornucopia of such material and are pleased to note that spammers have unwittingly contributed so much to humanity.

Writer Worksheet Wednesday: Things I LoveCreative Writer Worksheet – Things I Love About Writing (PDF) Here we are, the beginning of a brand new series: Writer Worksheet Wednesday! Having deja vu? I began my writing worksheet series with Things I Love and I still think the heart’s a good place to start (or restart). Interpret these prompts in any wild and willful way you like, just make sure you cover every centimetre of white space with your impassioned scribblings. What’s not to love?

This is a spoof with a very clever computer application which shits out very realistic looking PostModernarrhea. by xodarapFeb 19